As I begin each project I try to get a bit of a running start, so that I can have an idea of what I am after with the images and perhaps a text to quote. But so often I broadly define the field I plan to run in so that the lilies, the swans, a gesture or some form of ingenuity all influence the outcome of my images and choices of pots, background, and the natural element. The experience of June and the light and long days reinforce meaning of place. This attention to place, light, function, use and the garden are part of what add up my sense of what art has to offer us. I have tossed lots of possibilities around but in the end I make sure to leave room for the unimaginable to emerge.
"Where do I live? If I had no address, as many people
do not, I could nevertheless say that I lived in the
same town as the lilies of the field, and the still
waters.
do not, I could nevertheless say that I lived in the
same town as the lilies of the field, and the still
waters.
Spring, and all through the neighborhood now there are
strong men tending flowers.
strong men tending flowers.
Beauty without purpose is beauty without virtue. But
all beautiful things, inherently, have this function -
to excite the viewers toward sublime thought. Glory
to the world, that good teacher.
all beautiful things, inherently, have this function -
to excite the viewers toward sublime thought. Glory
to the world, that good teacher.
Among the swans there is none called the least, or
the greatest.
the greatest.
I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in
singing, especially when singing is not necessarily
prescribed.
singing, especially when singing is not necessarily
prescribed.
As for the body, it is solid and strong and curious
and full of detail; it wants to polish itself; it
wants to love another body; it is the only vessel in
the world that can hold, in a mix of power and
sweetness: words, song, gesture, passion, ideas,
ingenuity, devotion, merriment, vanity, and virtue.
and full of detail; it wants to polish itself; it
wants to love another body; it is the only vessel in
the world that can hold, in a mix of power and
sweetness: words, song, gesture, passion, ideas,
ingenuity, devotion, merriment, vanity, and virtue.
Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable."
Mary Oliver from Evidence
Mary Oliver from Evidence
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